What’s more, doing a detailed market research, making a feasibility analysis, getting to know similar minded investors through networking are some of the ways that a person venturing into that field can avoid pitfalls.Good luck!

According to the person doing the survey, one of my neighbors was about 3 feet inside of our property.

Im happy to share any info I have based on my personal expierences along with my referl network.

They also have a Personal loan, $40k to $900k at 5%!!

You just don't go 15 years without major expenses.Will you go to Memphis in person to take a look at this property or others? 

He has nearly 40 years experience and his properties are owned in his personal name.

A 1031 exchange is only an option if the properties you're selling and the property you're buying are for business use (generally, that means they have to be rental properties, used for your business, or held strictly for appreciation and not used for personal use). 

They are not typically designed to create a profit for the person running it, although frequently that person does well on the deals that come through the REIA's membership.

All transactions involving your IRA must be "arm's length," meaning that you or any other "disqualified person" can't be involved directly or indirectly, and that is not the case as you described above. 

The issue we have with some OOS investors is that they never have seen their property in person, they just leave it to the PM and object every repair bill.